


Anonymity is amusing me

by AliaMael



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Awkward Crush, Gen, Humor, Well at least one character finds this hilarious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27923617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliaMael/pseuds/AliaMael
Summary: If all the Reapers look the same with their hood up, it should be easy to fake being one, right?(It was. Some consequences were still… unplanned for.)
Relationships: Hanekoma Sanae & Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24





	Anonymity is amusing me

**Author's Note:**

> At this point I feel like I need a blanket disclaimer that at least half of my TWEWY fics are inspired by Willow_Bun, Kusuriurikun, or both. Simply existing in the same plane as them seems to invoke plot bunnies out of thin air. (Thank you ♥)

There was something to be said for the anonymity of the Reapers' outfits.

Seriously, it was impressive how _easy_ it was to pass for a Wall Reaper. A red hoodie, a black baseball cap, and voilà, no one questioned Sanae. This was not his usual distant observer style, but he was bored and, to be perfectly honest, there was a thrill in wondering if someone would catch up.

(The fact that he was able to make people forget in case things got out of hand allowed him this selfish moment of amusement.)

He could have impersonated a Harrier. That would have left him with less restrictions on his moves, but faking Reaper's wings didn't seem worth the effort. Observing from a Wall and mingling with other Reapers after the Game had concluded for the day was more than enough.

He still avoided Kariya, because the guy was observant and had been there for decades. If someone could realize that Sanae was not a legit Reaper, that was probably him. But the others didn't seem to see anything amiss. Reapers were numerous and nobody knew everyone. (It was fun to discover that some Reapers would fail to recognize their friends as long as they kept the hood up because they were too close in build to another colleague.)

He couldn't quite say how he came to attend a full team meeting, though. It had been the conclusion of a process where each step seemed logical, but looking back he couldn't piece it together. Well. He just had to stay in a corner and keep quiet, his head slightly down to keep his face in the shadow, and he would be good.

It was interesting to see the Officers interact with the field Reapers. Sanae had way less occasions to spy on them, and that kind of situation was a novelty. So even if the briefing was not especially revolutionary, he listened with his full focus because for him the _speech_ was new even if the information was not.

After a few questions from some of the youngest Reapers, the meeting was over, and Sanae was already thinking of the painting waiting for him at WildKat when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

He turned and barely resisted the urge to look up at Kitaniji. No need to push his luck by showing his face.

“Sir?” he prudently asked.  
“Come with me,” Kitaniji ordered.

Sanae could only obey, but he was starting to wonder what he had done to bring attention to himself. He was not the only Reaper to have kept his cap inside, nor the only one wearing his hoodie zipped up to his chin…

Then they were alone in a smaller room and Kitaniji stopped. Sanae didn't dare check, but he was pretty sure Kitaniji was staring at him with insistence.

“Who are you?” Kitaniji asked, cold and dangerous.

Sanae shivered and firmly told himself that being _thrilled_ by that tone was not the appropriate reaction. At all.

“What do you mean?” he said, trying to make himself sound meek and confused. “I'm just a–“  
“You're not one of my Reapers,” Kitaniji cut him. “Who. Are. You?”

Sanae finally looked up. Kitaniji's eyes were hidden by his ever present sunglasses, but his expression was hard, unforgiving, and Sanae would _seriously_ need to examine his reaction to that, but later. (He still hoped he was not blushing.)

“I'm Sanae Hanekoma,” he finally answered, not knowing what else to say.

Kitaniji frowned. There was a silence.

“That's not your real name,” he finally accused.  
“… it is?” Sanae said, confused.  
“You're not a Reaper, and no Player by this name entered the UG in the last years. This is the last time I ask: _who are you_?”

At that point, the sensible move would probably have been to make Kitaniji forget about him and stop playing with fire by pretending to be a Reaper. Sanae found himself hesitating nonetheless.

Then Kitaniji grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. His hold was –or at least felt– inescapable, and Sanae could only follow, struggling to keep pace, cursing the way his heart was beating wildly and his legs were suddenly wanting to turn into jelly because of something that was very much _not_ fear.

Had he not been so busy trying to push down his sudden and inappropriate attraction, he would probably have realized where they were going. As it was, he found himself in the Room of Reckoning before fully understanding what was happening. Kitaniji put a hand on his shoulder to force him down to his knees and Sanae didn't even try to resist –didn't even _think_ to resist, and damn, he had _so much_ introspection to do once he'd be out of this mess.

“Sir,” Kitaniji respectfully called, “we have an intruder. I'm sorry to bother you but he refuses to answer my questions.”

And Kitaniji removed Sanae's cap, pulling his hood back in the same move. Sanae took a deep breath, then looked up at Joshua. 

For maybe five or six seconds, the Composer only stared at him, looking dangerously close to straight out _gaping_. And then he dissolved into undignified giggles, almost choked on his laughter, and flat out _fell from his throne_ , nothing stopping his hilarity.

“… Sir?” Kitaniji tried, confused.

Joshua tried to say something but couldn't manage a word, still laughing hard enough to stay on the floor. At some point, he looked at Sanae, which only launched him into an even more hysterical laugh.

On one hand, Sanae had a hard time keeping a straight face. It was not often that he saw Joshua so amused, and it was a bit contagious. On the other hand, he was wondering if he should feel insulted.

Next to him, Kitaniji was radiating unease. 

When it became obvious that the Composer was showing no sign of calming down, Kitaniji politely coughed.

“I… should I understand that you have no problem with him being here, Sir?” he tried.

Joshua, miraculously, managed to nod.

Sanae was not sure that Kitaniji was able to see it due to the difference in Frequency, but Joshua had tears of hilarity streaming down his cheeks. He had already tried to get back on his throne twice, and failed both attempts.

“You, get up,” Kitaniji eventually ordered.

Sanae hurried to obey and let Kitaniji guide him out of the room.

It was only two closed doors later, back in the Dead God's Pad, that Joshua's laugh finally became inaudible. Kitaniji turned toward Sanae, obviously at a loss but trying to cling to his authority.

“So...” he began before trailing off.  
“Would it help if I said I'm sorry?” Sanae offered.

Kitaniji shook his head.

“I'm not even sure what just happened,” he admitted.  
“I guess he was, uh, epically surprised to see me dressed like a Reaper?”

Kitaniji pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I _knew_ you couldn't be a Reaper”, he sighed.

Sanae shrugged, uneasy.

“My name's really Sanae Hanekoma, though,” he added after a few seconds.  
“The Composer obviously knows you, so I won't push, but I'd still like to know why you were at this meeting.”  
“I… I was just curious,” Sanae said, feeling ridiculous.

Kitaniji stared, then made a beeline toward the bar and grabbed the closest bottle to pour himself a glass.

“Uh… you OK?” Sanae asked.

Kitaniji made a dismissive hand gesture without looking at him.

“OK enough,” he said.  
“I… I'll see myself out, then?”

Kitaniji just began to drink. Sanae watched, transfixed, as his Adam's apple moved when he swallowed, then practically fled the room before he could embarrass himself even more.

So. Much. Damn. Introspection.

(It took _weeks_ for Joshua to stop laughing each time he saw Sanae.)


End file.
